GESI Specialist – USAID Empower Southern Africa (ESA), Pretoria, South Africa 156 views0 applications

ECODIT is a women-owned small business and international development firm dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible development globally. Founded in 1993, ECODIT has delivered professional services across more than 250 projects and contracts in over 60 countries. Their expertise spans key sectors such as water, energy, environment, and governance. ECODIT provides a wide range of technical assistance services, from quick-turnaround assessments and evaluations to the design and implementation of long-term, multi-million-dollar projects. Through their work, ECODIT collaborates with governments, businesses, and local communities to promote sustainable development practices. Additionally, ECODIT is proud to hold both ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Certifications, which underscores our dedication to quality, continuous improvement and sustainable environmental practices in all that we do.

Position Summary

ECODIT seeks a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Specialist for the USAID Empower Southern Africa (ESA) project. ESA is a 5-year regional program that covers South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros and Sao Tome and Principe. The primary purpose of ESA is to increase the availability of, access to, and use of affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy in Southern Africa. This position will be based in Pretoria, South Africa.

GESI Specialist will lead efforts to integrate gender and social inclusion strategies into all aspects of the project, ensuring compliance with USAID policies and local regulations. The specialist will collaborate closely with the Senior GESI Advisor and other stakeholders to design, implement, and monitor activities that promote gender equality and social inclusion, particularly in energy sector initiatives across the region. The role requires strong expertise in gender mainstreaming, policy development, and stakeholder engagement, with a focus on fostering inclusive development in the energy sector. This will be a full-time position, based in Pretoria, South Africa, for the life of the project (anticipated to be five years).

Responsibilities:

• Provide gender mainstreaming and inclusive development technical support to all ESA technical and operational staff in coordination with the Senior GESI Advisor to ensure compliance with USAID and local policies and regulations.
• Support the Senior GESI Advisor in the management and implementation of program activities to achieve ESA’s targets and purpose.
• Oversee and lead implementation on discrete technical activities as assigned by the Senior GESI Advisor including, but not limited to, policy development and implementation plan formulation with key ESA stakeholders, developing and facilitating training activities to improve women’s energy-sector skills or technical development, supporting youth workforce development initiatives in coordination with other ESA staff, developing social impact assessment frameworks for feasibility studies, or integrating gender-lens investing principles into transaction advisory services for energy projects
• Design and facilitate relevant GESI training for ESA staff, partners, stakeholders, and beneficiaries to build capacity in coordination with or under the direction of the Senior GESI Advisor.
• Ensure GESI considerations are incorporated into ESA’s grant solicitations and awards.
• Ensure GESI dimensions are integrated in scopes of work developed with institutional partners.
• Contribute to project bi-weekly, quarterly, and annual reports, annual work plans, and other project reports and deliverables as required, such as supporting data collection efforts where appropriate.
• Ensure timely tracking of the necessary (gender- disaggregated) information related to activity implementation that is required for program reporting and monitoring evaluation, in close collaboration with MEL team.
• Support the Senior GESI Advisor with the planning and execution of relevant stakeholders’ engagement activities, as needed e.g., national, regional workshops, trainings, or research activities.
• Undertake assessment trips, initiate, conduct stakeholder consultations or monitoring visits of select grantees where appropriate. eWHKRtk BVUcJh
• Facilitate knowledge-sharing sessions to empower ESA staff, partners, and counterparts with information on project activities related to improved access to quality energy resources by women, youth, or other underrepresented social groups.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior GESI Advisor.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies, Law, Development Studies, Social Sciences, Human rights or other relevant field
• At least 6 years of experience working on issues of gender equality and social inclusion on donor-funded international development programs
• Demonstrated experience integrating gender equality and social inclusion into the energy sector, including (but not limited to) community engagement principles, policy development, promotion of accessible on/off-grid connectivity, productive use of energy technologies, or other relevant topics
• Demonstrated policy development/formulation and training experience
• Strong institutional and multi-stakeholder coordination skills
• Strong oral and written skills in English
• Ability to work in multicultural environment
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• Excellent communication, and interpersonal skills to engage with multiple stakeholders and facilitate collaboration
• Professional fluency in English required

To apply, please send an updated resume/CV and cover letter in English through the “ Our Jobs ” section of the ECODIT website by no later than August 30, 2024 . Applications will be received and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants who fail to meet the application criteria may be disqualified. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

ECODIT provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are an applicant that requires a reasonable accommodation, please email us at [email protected] . Please reference the position in your email.

ECODIT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, sex, religion, creed, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, familial status, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other legally protected status or characteristics. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.